The 7 Childrens’ Book MBA

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Simple fact. Most of what we needed to know to succeed in business we learned on the playground, but now ignore or forget.

Here are 7 childrens’ books that will teach you as much as any 7 bestselling business books about what it takes to succeed in business…and life. And, unlike most business books, they’re short and sweet, have large type and pictures.

1. The Lorax – On respecting people and natural resources along the way.

“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not….

Now all that was left ‘neath the bad-smelling sky was my big empty factory…

the Lorax… and I.

The Lorax said nothing just gave me a glance. Just gave me a very sad, sad backward glance.

He lifted himself by the seat of his pants and I’ll never forget the grim look on his face

as he hoisted himself and took leave of this place through a hole in the smog without leaving a trace

and all that the Lorax left here in this mess was a small pile of rocks with one word.

UNLESS”

2. Winnie the Pooh – On the power of simplicity and serving needs.

“It is more fun to talk with someone who doesn’t use long, difficult words but rather short, easy words like “What about lunch?””

“You can’t stay in your corner of the Forest waiting for others to come to you. You have to go to them sometimes.”

“Sometimes, if you stand on the bottom rail of a bridge and lean over to watch the river slipping slowly away beneath you, you will suddenly know everything there is to be known.”

“Don’t underestimate the value of Doing Nothing, of just going along, listening to all the things you can’t hear, and not bothering.”

“Before beginning a Hunt, it is wise to ask someone what you are looking for before you begin looking for it.”

3. The Little Prince – On the role of compassion and intuition.

“It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.”

“What makes the desert beautiful,” said the little prince, “is that somewhere it hides a well…”

“Well, I must endure the presence of two or three caterpillars if I wish to become acquainted with the butterflies.”

“All men have the stars,” he answered, “but they are not the same things for different people. For some, who are travellers, the stars are guides. For others they are no more than little lights in the sky. For others, who are scholars, they are problems. For my businessman they were wealth. But all the stars are silent. You–you alone–will have the stars as no one else has them–“

4. Where the Wild Things Are – On the dance between quest, emotion, fear and solace. But one of the biggest business lessons—perseverance—comes from what happened to the book when it first came out.

“According to Sendak, at first the book was banned in libraries and received negative reviews. It took about two years for librarians and teachers to realize that children were flocking to the book, checking it out over and over again, and for critics to relax their views.Since then, it has received high critical acclaim. Francis Spufford suggests that the book is ‘one of the very few picture books to make an entirely deliberate, and beautiful, use of the psychoanalytic story of anger.’ Mary Pols of Time magazine wrote that ‘[w]hat makes Sendak’s book so compelling is its grounding effect: Max has a tantrum and in a flight of fancy visits his wild side, but he is pulled back by a belief in parental love to a supper ‘still hot,’ balancing the seesaw of fear and comfort.'” – Wikipedia.

5. The Giving Tree – On giving without expectation of reciprocation.

Ben Jackson, professor of Religious Studies at Stanford University shared: “Is this a sad tale? Well, it is sad in the same way that life is depressing. We are all needy, and, if we are lucky and any good, we grow old using others and getting used up. Tears fall in our lives like leaves from a tree. Our finitude is not something to be regretted or despised, however; it is what makes giving (and receiving) possible.

The more you blame the boy, the more you have to fault human existence. The more you blame the tree, the more you have to fault the very idea of parenting. Should the tree’s giving be contingent on the boy’s gratitude? If it were, if fathers and mothers waited on reciprocity before caring for their young, then we would all be doomed.”

6. Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, Very Bad Day – On how we choose the frame within which we operate.

How we choose to view circumstance determines how we see the world around us…and the fact that stuff happens, but there’s always an opportunity to start again.

“I went to sleep with gum in my mouth and now there’s gum in my hair and when I got out of bed this morning I tripped on the skateboard and by mistake I dropped my sweater in the sink while the water was running and I could tell it was going to be a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.”

7. Oh the Places You Will Go – On self-determination and leadership

“You have brains in your head.

You have feet in your shoes.

You can steer yourself any direction you choose.

You’re on your own.

And you know what you know.

And YOU are the one who’ll decide where to go.”

Have any others you’d add?

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Hi Jonathan, I love this post! I’ve read and cherish practically all of those books, and periodically return to some of them to remind myself of the lessons that they teach. Thank you for compiling this list – you made me smile. 🙂

What a wonderful post. I love what you put about the Giving Tree, a story I hated as a child and now have come to accept it’s simple message of unconditional love as a parent.

Ironically, I picked up Winnie the Pooh this weekend to read quietly to myself. In the hubbub of children’s bedtime stories and reading to keep them quiet while waiting in offices, I hadn’t realized that simple beautiful truths it contains.

“But I’m right,” the owl said, “on one thing at least;
He doesn’t exist, he’s a mythical beast.”
“Does he mean,” worried Zeke, “that I’m not really here?
That most any minute I might disappear?”
“It’s nonsense,” scoffed Myrtle, “he’s a silly old bird.
But if it makes him feel better, let him have the last word.”

I use “Ish” in my high school art classroom. Many of the students are petrified of looking stupid or lame, when I explain that all our art will be art-ish (vase-ish, impressionist-ish, etc.) they begin to relax. I read the book to them, show them the illustrations that made someone money!!! and we can actually get started with learning.

JOnathan – This is a beautiful list – My 5 year old twins are rapidly becoming avid readers and I am always looking for those golden gem books that we can all read together where the message and the memories of the book will follow them well into their future and serve them well. This list is one of the puzzle pieces for creating this with my girls. Interestingly The Giving Tree has been on my mind for weeks now – I have such powerful emotional memories of this book growing up and have wanted to get it and share it with my little ones – You so eloquently summed up the powerful and timeless lessons that are held within the pages of this book and all of these other classics.
Thank you for sharing your wisdom through this lens of children’s books!
😉
Amy

As a collector, reviewer, and – of course! – avid reader of children’s books, I find the concept of learning “grown-up” lessons from these illustrated treasures an absolute delight.

I’m interviewing children’s book aficionado Anita Silvey for an upcoming post I’m working on. While researching, I came across this Walter de la Mare quote that she often uses: “Only the rarest kind of best in anything can be good enough for the young.” I think that’s true, but I also think there’s no reason we grown-ups (or, “mostly grown-ups”) can’t benefit from the wonderfully wise and beautifully presented lessons of children’s literature.

THANK YOU for putting these classics and their messages in your spotlight.
🙂

One of the biggest gifts in my parenting journey has been to see the world through my child’s eyes while having an adult perspective. Some of these I have read recently, others it’s been a long time. I look forward to cuddling up with my daughter and reading for myself as well as her.

Great post. I compare things I hear on the news to the laws of my childhood all the time. Great list of books – I’d have to add Charlie and The Chocolate Factory, Charlotte’s Web and Harriet the Spy. And ye old Grimm’s Fairy Tales….

Thanks, Jonathan. I love Kid Lit. These books will be right up your alley— The Dot and Ish by Peter Reynolds. The Dot is about making your mark and seeing where it takes you. Ish is about nurturing the craetive spirit.

When my two older children were growing up I never really paid attention to how children’s books could be useful business lessons. However since becoming an entrepreneur since Fiona was born 7 years ago, I see business lessons in lots of kids books.

I recently read The Lorax for the first time and realized what a great lesson it provided. I find it very interesting that you include 2 Dr. Seuss books in this list. We’re great Seuss fans.

I have felt for a long time now that “children’s” books have a lot to teach anybody, adults included, who is willing to be open and listen. Of course, good books, I mean!

One that I highly recommend is a long short story or novella by Roald Dahl called “The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar”. This is admittedly a story for older children, ages 10-12 and up or so, but the narrative is beautifully executed by Dahl and it is engaging on many levels for an audience of any age. The story is centered a wealthy gentleman’s club bachelor type who happens upon a story about a man with a mystical power. The bachelor decides to master the power himself over a period of many years and then sets out to use it to make the world a better place. It has an ingenious story-within-a-story structure that makes it a great re-read, as well. Highly recommended!

Today, in the grade 8,9,10 English classes I read “Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf” in which, “bang,bang,bang she shot him dead” and made a lovely wolfskin coat. I with lots of vigor and gestures and soaring notes and accelerations and decelerations – I don’t think they’ve listened so attentively to anything else all year!

you literally just highlighted 6 of my top favorite children’s’ books… the only one not listed that I would add is Pete and Pickles by Berkeley Breathed… I think this one has the most profound message of any I have ever read…

When I was a teacher at the holidays I turned my classroom door into the cover of The Giving Tree and cut out apples from red construction paper. Then I read the book to my class and we discussed what gifts they had that they could share with people. The gifts had to be immaterial things such as teaching others how to do something they are good at, being patient with bothersome siblings etc.

My favorite was one 2nd grader who said “My ear trick because it makes people laugh.” He would cram the cartilage parts of his ears into the opening. They’d stay for a bit then suddenly pop back out. It did make all the kids laugh. I’d be in the middle of an in depth math lesson and suddenly the Jacobs corner of the room would erupt in laughter.

I loved teaching that lesson, it was an oasis of calm in the elementary school holiday frenzy. And it put my students in a calmer mindset. They’d spend time looking at the door talking about the different gifts. I kept extra apples out so they could post additional gifts.

At 15 I read “Hope for the Flowers.” Although the characters are caterpillars, it’s really a fable about the rat race among humans and how we can transcend it to reach our fullest potential. I was glad to share it with my daughter when she needed a recommendation for her book report.

What a great selection of books. I read the “The Little Prince” in my Grade 11 French class so unfortunately more emphasis was placed on learning and understanding the “vocabulaire” than the overall philosophy. I’ll have to go back and re-read it in English. I’d add Robert Munsch’s book “The Paper Bag Princess” to the list of books as Princess Elizabeth is a great role model for girls in terms of showing smarts, resilience, courage and a high level of self-esteem. And then, of course, there are the good old Aesop’s fables.

There are so many lessons in this book, but I read it whenever I’m going through massive change – it’s a wonderful metaphor for the journey through crisis towards greater authenticity. I even have a copy I photocopied version that I have hand-colored – coloring in the story has been a wonderful exercise to help me relax into change!

I have been trying to think of Friday book reads to read to my classes, I teach integrated physics and chemistry, and this list is an awesome place to start. What does it have to with Physics and Chemistry? Everything and nothing!

My two oldest sons received Oh, The Places You’ll Go for HS graduation.

I’d add Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson to the list. I passed it out at a couple of executive classes (negotiations and sales) that I taught a number of years ago. Nothing explains the value of flexibility like that book.

Don’t think I noticed, “The Paper Bag Princess” by Robert Munch on that list. Especially if you are a little girl, especially if you are a woman, especially if you are male and understand that girls are still being sold a bill of goods that ultimately creates mental limitations on who they are and what they can make of their lives.

Elizabeth is my hero! Hopefully, it is in your daughter’s bookcase. Of course, it being in my son’s bookcase gets some of the blame for the egalitarian man who is comfortable and encouraging around strong women.

My favorite child’s book is Kate’s Car by Kay Chorao. Kate is a very little human who cannot apply the human language yet but nevertheless UNDERSTANDS. She loses her favorite (toy) car and encounters all of life’s prejudices, condemnations, and finally UNDERTANDING & ACCEPTANCE in her quest to find her favorite toy, her car. Life is, after all, so very simple.

Thanks Jonathan
I’ve always loved Winnie the Pooh -my AA Milne quote for coaching and planning is;
“Here is Edward Bear, coming downstairs now, bump, bump, bump, on the back of his head, behind Christopher Robin. It is, as far as he knows, the only way of coming downstairs, but sometimes he feels that there really is another way, if only he could stop bumping for a moment and think of it.”

Great list! My wife bought “The Giving Tree” for me–a very profound book we both love. I would add “Leo the Lop” by Stephen Cosgrove and Robin James, for showing us that different is not bad, and that others can speak wisdom into our lives.

[…] The “7 Childrens’ Book MBA” I’ve already had several really good discussions with my oldest child about some of the meaning of “The Lorax” – not just the environmental message, but the business message, too (since banking your whole business on a non-renewable resource is a bad idea). (@ jonathan fields) […]

[…] The “7 Childrens’ Book MBA” I’ve already had several really good discussions with my oldest child about some of the meaning of “The Lorax” – not just the environmental message, but the business message, too (since banking your whole business on a non-renewable resource is a bad idea). (@ jonathan fields) […]

A lovely post, Jonathan. I’ve read all these books, and I think you’re right about their brevity. Brevity is powerful because wisdom rarely needs many words, and sometimes, none at all. We tend to tear our hearts out of business and make it some cold function of the intellect, as though we really believed that the only people who succeed are ones who can make “hard” decisions in a crisis. Of course, this isn’t true for everyone, and the people who can pour the foundation of their business at the intersection of their minds and hearts are the ones who succeed—and have a lot of fun doing it.

Great Post Jonathan! As the daughter of a teacher-librarian I grew up with exposure to so many great children’s books and love reading my faves to all my little friends.

A relatively new one (1999) that I LOVE is The Gruffalo. It’s a great story of a clever mouse who invents a scary beast to protect him from his predators, outsmarting them all and proving that imagination and ingenuity are invaluable. It’s some of the best rhyming since Suess! Best of all, it’s been made into a 30 minute short film – nominated for an Academy Award this year – with some of the most beautiful animation I’ve ever seen. A modern day classic IMHO 🙂

As an early childhood teacher and writer, there area many titles I could Azeri this stellar list. The firs few that come to mind are:

Ish- the value of creativity cannot be underestimated.
Amazing Grace- ddeterminatiin defies any label someone else might give you.
The Hundred Dresses- apreciation for what you have without judging what other may or may not have
Wemberly Worried- we all worry, but things work out for a reason
Appelemando’s Dream- others may discourage you,but paint those dreams for everyone to see
I could go on, and often do on my own blog (wonderofchildren.wordpress.com)- but Jonathan has a solid start as do other commentors!

But these are simplistic stories….for the complexities of ethical decision-making, for the duties of individuals to be human in a large corporate system, for taking responsiblity for resisting wrong, I’d say A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle.
And for learning to pay attention to the small details, any photo book by Tana Hoban.
For learning to laugh at ourselves, poetry books by Jack Prelutsky and Garth Williams,like Ride a Purple Pelican, and Hippos Go Berserk by Sandra Boynton.
Wren teaches us the difference that one person can make in Sherwood Smith’s Wren books.
And for the importance of developing your own sense of style in management and life, any of the Max the Dog Poet books by Maira Kalman.

My favorite book was the Pussy Cat Tiger. It has little to do with anything other than the thought that, as a child, I wouldn’t be powerless forever.

Of the the books listed a few I’ve never heard of. A few more I’ve never read. Only Pooh and Seuss did I have growing up but none of the ones listed…

Other favorites were: Toby Zebra and the lost Zoo, Harry by the Sea, Frog and Toad and That’s Good That’s Bad. Charming I guess is the best way to describe them however that don’t belong on the list. I’m adding them here as books I loved as a child and would recommend to anyone for their children.

My daughter turned 11 months old today so I’m excited to add more books to her library. She seems to prefer very short read and touch books… “No more monkeys jumping on the bed” is a favorite for her… Goodnight Moon she finds a little wordy… lol

[…] The latest post on Jonathan Fields’ blog got me thinking about how very important that lesson is, even from an early age. He lists seven children’s books that teach profound lessons that can be adapted and applied to business. If you haven’t read them, consider getting them for your little ones as a good excuse to extract their deeper lessons for yourself. […]

absolutely enjoyed this post..very unexpected find in this sort of space 🙂 so this is my share:

on a flyover over railway tracks near my home, a train was passing right below and looked gorgeous against the fading evening light. i was with a photographer friend and we were both admiring the view. a small kid who was passing by, began pulling at two adults holding his hands on each side, and insisted they LOOK too, at the sight below. but the adults were so busy in their convo they hardly paid attention. 😛 again realised why kids see better.

This list is awesome, almost all of the books would be on my list if I had been asked to made the same one.

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day has been my favorite book since I first read it as a teenager. It became my children’s favorite, and now my grandchildren’s. “I think I’m moving to Australia” has became our family’s code for bad days; we know we have to find out the troubles and help the person get through them.

I would add “The Shrinking of Treehorn” by Florence Parry Heide. It is a cautionary tale of the dangers of adults ignoring the feelings and realities of young children. The moral is that young children’s feelings are to be taken seriously. That can be extrapolated to the need to take everyone’s feelings and perceptions of their reality seriously. Minimizing others’ feelings usually gets us, and them, in a bad place in some way or another.

Great List!!! To add: Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney Beautiful illustrations and guiding life principles.

“When I grow up, I too will go to faraway places, and when I grow old, I too will live beside the sea.” “That is all very well, little Alice,” said her grandfather, “but there is a third thing you must do.” “What is that?” asked Alice. “You must do something to make the world more beautiful”

Awesome post. I’d add Goodnight Moon. Although a very simple book, it seems to me that the book is about gratitude and going to sleep with a clear conscience after fulfilling the day’s obligations. Lessons any adult could use.

[…] or cartoon that you watched as a child. Examples include Social Marketing Lessons from Dr. Seuss, The 7 Childrens’ Book MBA, and Entrepreneurs in Never Never Land: Leadership Lessons from Peter […]

Those are all wonderful books for children and their awesome imagination. You should aslo check out Max Goes To The Moon. Bretton Hadfield has recently released “Max the Mouse Goes to the Moon”. Written as a bedtime story for his son, Max the Mouse is a character that inspires young and old with a tale of how even the smallest of beings can bring about great accomplishments. Children are born with an innate desire to explore, discover, and learn. Often children are faced with challenges or obstacles and lack the ability or know-how to overcome them. Teaching children through stories and play is the most engaging and memorable way for a hild to absorb tools for growth and development. Max the Mouse Goes to the Moon teaches several of these life lessons in a simple, yet poignant story.

Max is an unstoppable mouse with a clear intention. His keen desire to go to the moon, in spite of jeers from his friends, shows readers that desire, willingness to take action, and following one’s heart can make dreams come true. Through beautiful watercolor illustrations by Kera Baker, “Max the Mouse Goes to the Moon” will capture the attentions, hearts, and spirits of all who read this powerful tale of persistance and prevail.

When he is not writing, Bretton Hadfield is a father and husband, a career attorney and an adventurer. He is committed that people live lives they love, fulfilling their wishes and fondest dreams.

“As our little ones shoot for moons of their own, as they risk and they fail, as they try and achieve, let us encourage that divine spark within, for each of them is the gift this world prayed to recieve.” -Bretton Hadfield

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